Policeman in court for illegally arresting visitor in Dubai

Dubai: Dubai Police arrested a corporal who arrested a visitor and forced him to sign a promissory note for the benefit of a businessman, a Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old Iranian corporal, and another officer, went in a police patrol vehicle to the Iranian victim to arrest him. Details emerged that the corporal's Indian businessman friend had a financial dispute with the victim’s father.

According to Dubai Public Prosecution, in April 2019, the 24-year-old Iranian victim was in his hotel at the Naif area, when the defendant came in his police uniform and took him to the police patrol vehicle.

“I sat on the back seat of the police car and there was another policeman in the front seat. They took me to a shop belong to the Indian businessman in the same area. The businessman is known to my father but I don’t know him well,” said the victim in records. “He told me that I con people and that I must return the money.”

Forced to sign

When they arrived at the shop, the 48-year-old businessman took a video of the victim sitting inside the patrol vehicle.

The businessman then brought a promissory note and told the victim to sign it.

“It was in Arabic and the businessman told me that I must return Dh132,000 to him by signing on the note. He claimed that the amount is part of a financial dispute with my father. When I refused, he threatened to ask the policemen to put me in jail,” he said.

The corporal then handcuffed the victim and threatened to take him to the police station where he would be assaulted in jail if he didn’t sign the paper.

The victim signed the paper and later he was taken back to his hotel by the businessman, who asked the victim to give him his valuable items.

“I was afraid and gave him five watches, necklaces and four perfumes worth Dh19,000,” the victim added.

The victim alerted his father who asked him to report the incident at Naif police station.

Video proof

An Emirati police officer testified that they checked surveillance cameras and saw the police patrol stopping outside the shop and then the victim entering.

“We summoned the 52-year-old policeman who was in the police patrol with the corporal and he confessed that the Indian businessman knew the corporal and that he called him to solve a dispute,” said the Emirati police officer.

During interrogation, the corporal denied the accusations but prosecution said the businessman’s phone had WhatsApp voice messages between the corporal and the businessman in which the Indian defendant asked the policeman to check if he is wanted or not.

“The defendant checked in the system and told the businessman that he has no problem,” he said.

The second policeman said they were in police patrol when the Indian businessman called his colleague and told him that he has a financial problem with the victim.

The Indian businessman was charged with forcing the victim to sign on promissory note of Dh132,000 and theft.

The corporal was charged with illegally arresting the victim, abetment to crime and illegally providing official information or data to the businessman.

The 52-year-old Iranian policeman was charged with negligence to report a crime.

Next hearing will be on August 7.